A personal account of motivations, sharing my journey to a goal - to express my passion for ‘grass roots’ football in its many forms / document the ‘untold stories’ of many of the ‘Park Footballers’ I have played with for 30 years / to combine my love of portraits, archiving ‘hidden histories’ of a unique ‘city by the sea’ called Brighton & Hove / then celebrate how this game has enhanced our lives – honouring the ‘Corinthian Spirit’ in the form of a published book.

Friday, 17 June 2016

Playing footie in the sky with diamonds

This is an update just in case you are wondering what
I have been doing since my crowd funding bid ended for a publishing
project called ‘JUMPERS for GOALPOSTS – Stories of Grass Roots Football from Brighton
& Hove’ (working title); I am
glad to report that it has provided adequate finance to produce a decent &
stylish print run!

A deep ‘thank you’ goes to all of you that supported
me in this project, with your advice, honesty & arguments, volunteering time to tell me your stories, filming
interviews, helping with photography , copyrighting and making this a community collaboration that is focused upon our shared
passion for ‘a beautiful game’. These are elements that will guarantee a worthy
publication in the long run – and there is still time for you to contribute
your stories!

Over
the past 2 months I have been:

1.Training
in Photoshop / publishing techniques to provide printers with
a document that is accurate, entertaining as well as inspiring in a modern format.

2.Continued
to interview past and present ‘park
footballers’ (some with their children present)
mainly at my studio/office, by phone or in Al Campos on London
Road in Brighton (with coffee for treats) –discovering a rich seam of ‘indigenous Brightonians’, as well
as ‘recent settlers’ from all walks of life, which amounts to many inspiring
experiences and stories, so I am confident that the finished publication will
be very interesting and diverse.

3.Undertaken
a mixed media work of art I was awarded that will be
exhibited in The Turner Gallery this summer. This commission enables me to increase investment in addition to crowd
funding bid and publish even more books.

4.Completed
23 portraits of players in multimedia formats and posted
their portraits online for feedback. I have incorporated many different skills to make all these images unique in styles, so far: ceramic tile mosaic / pen and ink / pencil / felt pen & ink
dots; and also I recently purchased a wood burning tool that I will use to complete
a few other portraits and already completed a 'test run' by
decorating my ukulele with a portrait & pattern motif, having to do this outdoors as it sets off fire alarms - but it’s fun!

5.Selected
Launch Date in late September 2016 but this depends on
a) standard of work produced b) how many interviews have been completed c)
responses from my team that is helping with quality control. Mindful of importance to independently finance this project because normal publishing routes could diminish the quality,
style and function of the book. With this in view I have undertaken training in
another field of work that awards sufficient funds that also offers me time
to develop the project in a meaningful and timely way. It means that it may
take a while longer to produce but things of quality always take a bit more
time and effort …it’s a labour of love anyway...

6.Negotiating
with a community café in Poets Corner as an ideal space
for a launch party for the book, with adequate space for children to play,
families to enjoy barbecues / indoor buffets as well as room to play a little
footie. I will be checking how Keith’s launch for his book of poetry goes before
confirming the date.

7.Undertaken
a new training regime to get back in fitness incorporating
cycling, swimming, yoga & steaming and playing on Hove Lawns (Tue &
Thurs from 6.15 pm) again! This is great because playing there is one compelling
reason I elected to remain in Brighton after completing my studies here 30
years ago.

8.Arranged
with Rodney (the film maker that is attempting a documentary about grass
roots footie in Brighton) to use a drone to film some of the action at Preston
Park and East Brighton Park with a view to doing more at Hove Lawns.

9.Followed
up on the invitation from Head of Parks & Recreation
from the council as he responded so well to my initial contact him for an
interview but he has not responded to my efforts ever since April, so I am
assuming that his behaviour is indicating a polite rejection.

10.Taken a parachute jump in Devon
– a wonderful experience that puts life goals into a courageous frame, inspiring
me to be fearless in this project - my children’s births were the only
experiences that were better than jumping from 15,000 feet. I felt close to ‘God’
and was profoundly moved by seeing this planet from that height. My instructor let
me control our decent after our ‘flight’ and I felt the power of self
determination in a whole new way - elated with an overpowering sense of joy and
fear so exquisite that my eyes poured water all the way down until I kissed
this earth.

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About Me

I am a qualified Art Therapist, with 20 years experience community working, building holistic skills by working in Youth Offending, Adult Mental Health, Anti Domestic violence strategies, Men & Fathers development (ABandofBrothers Mentor for 4 years), family support and multi-agency trainer for statutory as well as voluntary agencies.

Also, an established artist regularly exhibiting in London and across east Sussex.